May 17th

Greetings Delaney Families,

This week's blog is chock-full of information including upcoming events and happenings.  It also highlights many of the great achievements of our students.  Please enjoy!

As part of the 25th anniversary celebration, Open Circle sponsored a contest for students in grades K-5 to submit poetry, art or a video that answers the question "What is Open Circle?".  The Delaney School submitted both individual and class submissions and I'm so excited and proud to share with you that we had two winners!

Congratulations to third grader Hannah S. who received a 1st place award for her entry!

Congratulations to Mrs. D'Egidio's first grade class who received Honorable Mention for their video entry!

                                             

Open Circle is a universal Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) program focused on two goals:

• Strengthening students' SEL skills related to recognizing and managing emotions, developing care and concern for others, establishing positive relationships, making responsible decisions, and handling challenging situations constructively
  
• Fostering safe, caring and highly-engaging classroom and school communities

At the heart of Open Circle are 15-to-20 minute classroom meetings led by teachers twice per week throughout the school year. These interactive meetings include group discussions, role-playing, literature, and community-building activities. Students learn and practice important SEL skills such as listening, cooperating, speaking up, calming down, expressing anger appropriately, recognizing dangerous and destructive behavior, and problem solving.

    Congratulations!!!!

Congratulations to the following students who received Positive Referrals this week.  Students were recognized for being caring, kind, considerate, and helpful.  Super job!

Third grade students participated in the Mathematics MCAS on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Each and every one of them should be commended for the hard work and determination they demonstrated while answering multiple choice, short answer, and open response questions.  Great job boys and girls!


                                        Bruins Spirit Day!

The Delaney School Art Show will be held on Wednesday, May 22nd from 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. in the Delaney Cafeteria.  Student artwork for kids in Kindergarten through Grade 3 will be on display.  Please stop by and enjoy their fabulous creations!

• Order forms for the Wrentham Staff vs. Wrentham Police Department Charity Basketball Game that will be held on June 5th are being sent home today (Friday, May 17th).  Forms are due back by Friday, May 31st.  For more information regarding the game, check out the fantastic commercial created by Mrs. Moon's sixth grade students (and featuring some familiar faces) by clicking here.

• On Wednesday, May 22nd, afternoon dismissal (normally located in the Delaney Cafeteria) will be held in the Gibbons Gym.  The YMCA After School Program will be relocated to the Roderick School Cafeteria.

• There will be No School on Monday, May 27th in recognition of Memorial Day.

• Due to Kindergarten Screening for our 2013-2014 students entering K in the fall, there will be No School, for current Kindergarten students ONLY, on Friday, June 14th.  

The annual Memorial Day program for the Delaney and Roderick Schools will be held on Friday, May 24th at 9:00 a.m. in the Delaney School courtyard (located behind the Delaney School).  Parents and guests are invited to attend the program which is anticipated to last about 30 minutes.  Each grade level will present a song or poem, the Advanced Band will play The Star Spangled Banner, and one of our sixth grade students will recite Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

The following teachers submitted grants to WEST and were approved for funding.  Many of these grants were written on behalf of the entire grade level. Thank you to WEST for supporting these initiatives and programs and continuing to work to enhance the education of the children of the Delaney School.  We are greatly appreciative!

Interactive Read Alouds      Courtney Tufts               $750.00

Helen Keller                        Sarah Shaw                 $1030.00

Wampanoag                       Lori DeTrolio                 $1030.00

Author/Illustrator Study       Lu McNeal                    $1600.25

Preschool Technology        Mary Elizabeth  Clark    $1674.38

Thank you for visiting.

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Melissa D. Peterson

May 10th

Greetings Delaney Families,
I hope that you all had a wonderful week.  Please enjoy this week's blog.

Parents of Grade 1 students:  The results of the state-mandated BMI screening will be mailed home in the upcoming week.  We encourage you to share the results with your child’s health care provider.  Your child’s doctor or nurse is in the best position to evaluate his or her overall health and can explain the results of his or her BMI screening.  Please note that we are required to report our data to the Massachusetts State Department of Health for the annual BMI survey.  However, only summary information is sent.  No names and no information about individual students are sent.

In honor of school nurses' day this week, I would like to publicly recognize and thank Mrs. Kerry Richardson and Mrs. Julie Cashman for their phenomenal work with the children of the Delaney School.  The care that they give the kids and the manner in which they do so is truly exceptional.  From Band-aids and ice packs to inhalers, epi-pens and diabetic care, they treat each child as if they were their own.  Thank you ladies for all that you do!

• Third graders will be taking the Mathematics MCAS test on Tuesday, May 14th and Wednesday, May 15th.  Good luck boys and girls!

• Our school nurses, Julie Cashman and Kerry Richardson recently completed a program through the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Northeaster University School Health Institute entitled "Asthma Assessment and Treatment Update".

• DARE graduation was held for the Roderick School 6th graders on Wednesday, May 8th.  Congratulations to all!

                                                                  

Preschoolers in Project Blossom invited their mom in for a Mother's Day. Mom's enjoyed stories and brunch and were presented with a bouquet of hand painted flowers.

Thank you for reading this week's blog.
Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Mother's Day!
Sincerely,
Melissa D. Peterson

May 3rd

Hello Delaney Families,
Happy May!  Please enjoy this week's blog.


Congratulations!
Congratulations to the entire food service staff, our physical education teachers, and school nurses!  On Friday, May 3rd, representatives from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education along with Congressman Joseph Kennedy presented Mrs. Judy White-Orlando and the Delaney and Roderick Schools' Food Service Staff with the Healthier US School Challenge Bronze Award for their work in keeping Delaney and Roderick School students healthy.

School Council
The Delaney School Council held their final meeting of the school year on Wednesday, May 1st.  I would like to thank Mr. David Gresham and Mrs. Maguerite Fifolt (parent representatives) along with Mrs. Deidre D'Egidio and Mrs. Cindy Jones (teacher representatives) for volunteering their time throughout the year.  The Council completed the final draft of the 2013-2016 School Improvement Plan that will be presented to the School Committee in the fall for final approval, remained updated on current school happenings, acted as the liaison between the school, parents, and community, and provided ongoing feedback regarding a multitude of issues.  Thanks again to everyone for their hard work.

DI Spaghetti Supper Fundraiser
Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the DI Spaghetti Supper fundraiser on May 2nd. A special thank you to Chief Anderson for being a guest server.  Funds raised will be used to support our DI team in the Nationals in Tennessee at the end of the month.  We greatly appreciate your support and donations and wish the team of Thomas Cyr, Faye Veilleux, and Melanie Veilleux the best of luck!

Positive Referral Recipients!

Congratulations to the following students who received Positive Referrals this week.  Each of them demonstrated outstanding behavior and were recognized for being great role models! Way to go!

Third grade students from Mrs. Sabatini's class worked together this week to measure large, taped objects throughout the third grade wing.  The lesson was part of the measurement unit that the grade is working on as part of the Common Core State Standards.

PTO Spring Book Fair
Thank you to the PTO and many volunteers who organized and supported the Spring Book Fair.  The Delaney students entered the laboratory themed auditorium excited and with huge smiles across their faces.  The selection of books was amazing and everyone was able to find something (or many somethings in some cases) of interest.  I would also like to thank the PTO for allowing each teacher on staff to choose $75 worth of books for their classrooms.  This extremely generous donation is greatly appreciated!

Cell phones & Texting presentation

Last week, members of the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council (MetroLEC), ADA Jennifer Rowe, and Wrentham Police Chief Jim Anderson visited the Roderick School sixth grade students to discuss the dangers when using cell phones.  These individuals stressed the importance of being responsible when using a cell phone.  This presentation was recorded by Technology teacher Mrs. Fox and can be viewed here.


Parent Input Letters
Thank you to all you submitted a parental input letter for student placement.  Today (Friday, May 3rd) is the final day that the letters will be accepted.  

WEST would like to thank all of the parents, teachers, donors and supporters who helped to make Comedy Night 2013 a success.  WEST raised over $20,000 at Comedy Night this year allowing us to fund even more exciting educational grants for our students.  
Thank you so much for your support!

Have a great weekend and as always, thank you for visiting.
See you next week.
Sincerely,
Melissa D. Peterson